Table for classifying package-freight.



H. E. BURNS.

TABLE FOR CLASSIFYING PACKAGE FREIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. 1916.

1,199,760., Patented Oct. 3,1916.

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H. E. BURNS.

TABLE FOR CLASSIFYING PACKAGE FREIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 4 I916- Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 to be loaded in a standard box car and on which the railroad company would have HOWARD E. BURNS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

TABLE FOB. CLASSIEYING PACKAGE-FREIGHT.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Application filed February 4, 1916. Serial No. 76,190.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD E. BURNS, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tables for Classifying Package-Freight, of Which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. v

'Ihis invention relates to a table for enabling a person to ascertain whether a package can be loaded in a standard box car, namely, a car 36 long, 86" wide, 8' high and provided with a side door opening 6 wide and 76 high. Packages that can be loaded in a standard box car can be shipped at a much lower freight rate than packages which are too large to be introduced through the side door opening of a standard box car, as railroad companies have the right to charge for a minimum weight of four thousand pounds on each package that is too large to be introduced into a standard box car through the side door opening, even though the package weighs only. a fraction of four thousand pounds. For example, a package that can be. loaded in a standard box car through the side door opening in the car can be shipped at its actual weight, but if the package is too long, too high or too wide to be introduced into a standard box car through the side door opening, the railroad company charges theshipper for a minimum weight of four thousand pounds. Consequently, a shipper often does not know whether the freight charged on a package will be based on the actual weight of the package or on a minimum of four thousand pounds until after the railroad company has tried to load the package in one of its standard box cars, and if the shipper has sold the article in the package, under the assumption that it can be shipped at its actual weight, and finds out later that it has to be shipped at a minimum weight of four thousand pounds, his profit is diminished by the high freight rate that he is required to pay and very often the transaction results in an actual loss to the shipper. A loss of profits also often results to a railroad company, by reason of an employee quoting a shipper a definite" freight rate on a package that is too large been legally entitled to charge the shipper for a minimum weight of four thousand pounds. Furthermore, a great deal of trouble is occasioned, both to railroad companies and to shippers, in adjusting charges for package freight, it often being impossible to tell whether the charge made by the railroad company or a claim for an overcharge made by the shipper is correct, on account of the fact that the package to which the disputed charge relates cannot be examined so as to ascertain whether or not it could be placed in a standard box car.

The main object of my invention is to provide a table that shows the three dimen- 'sions of various sized packages that can be loaded in a standard box car, thereby enabling a person to ascertain, by referring to the table, whether a package of a particular size can be shipped at its actual weight, or whether it will have to be shipped at a minimum weight of a certain number of pounds.

Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

To this end I have devised a table which comprises a group of vertically-disposed columns provided with suitable headings that represent one dimension of packages of various sizes, a group of horizontally-disposed columns that cross sa d vertical columns and which are provided with suitable headf ings that represent another dimension of packages of various sizes, and numerals or units of measurement arranged in the spaces formed by the intersection of said horizontal and vertical columns that represent the third dimension of packages of various sizes, the table being so designed that the unit of measurement in any one space on the tablev represents the maximum dimension of a package whose other two maximum dimensions are represented by the headings for the two intersecting columns that cooperate with each other to form said space. In other words, the table is so designed that it shows the greatest length of a package of a certain width and height, or the greatest width of a package of a certain height and length,

or the greatest height of a package of a certain width and length that can be introduced into a standard box car.

Figure l of the drawings is a top plan View of a table constructed in accordance ithmy invention; and Fig, 2 is an enlarged top plan View of a portion of the table illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates a member which may be fiat, curved or of any other preferred form, B designates a group of parallel vertical columns on said member and C designates a group of parallel, horizontal'columns on said member that are arranged at right angles to the column B and cross same. The vertical columns B are provided. with headings consisting of units of measurement which preferably represent the width of packages of various sizes, and the horizontal columns C are provided with headings consisting of units of measurement that preferably represent the height of packages of various sizes. In the spaces formed by the intersections of said vertical and horizontal columns numerals or units of measurement are arranged to represent the third dimension or the length of packages of various sizes that can be loaded in a standard box car. In the table herein shown the horizontal columns C are numbered from 1 up to 95 and the vertical columns are numbered from 1" up to 5l1, every twelfth horizontal column commencing from the upper side of the table and every twelfth vertical column commencing from the left hand side'of the table being distinguished from the remaining columns in some suitable manner,either by making one dividing line heavy or printing it in a different color and providing said columns with headings which indicate that they represent feet. 7

The'vertical column B at the extreme left hand side of the table is preferably longer than the vertical. columns lying to the right of same, so as to reduce the number of spaces on the table to a minimum. In other words, the table is so designed that the narrowest dimension of a package is always considered the width, the longest dimension the length and the middle dimension the height. Therefore, the intersecting columns are so proportioned that the units of measurement 7 which represent thelength of packages are not I duplicated unnecessarily. The horizontal columns C, commencing with the 5ll column up to the 75 column, are of the same length, but the remaining horizontal columns are made shorter for the same reason that the length of the vertical columns B is var ed. I prefer to arrange the vertical columns B so that the upper ends of same terminate on practically a diagonal line that extends laterally and downwardly across the table from the upper end of the extreme left hand end vertical column so that the person using the table can quickly locate the vertical column whose heading corresponds to the width of the package that is being classified. A heading which'may consist of the words Height of package is preferably arranged at the left hand side of the table, so as to indicate that the units of measurement that constitute the headings for the horizontal columns 0 represent the height of packages, and a heading consisting of the words Width of package is preferably arranged at the upper side of the table in proximity to the units of measurement that constitute the heading for the vertical column C, so as to indicate that said units of measurement represent the width of packages. In the space formed by the intersection of. the vertical column and the horizontal column marked 1 the numerals 2310 are arranged so as to represent the length of the longest package 1" high, and 1 wide that can be loaded in a standard box car through the side door opening, as T have found that it is impossible to introduce a package of this Width and length and longer than 23l0 through the side door opening of a standard box car. i The space formed by the intersection of the horizontal column marked 2 and the vertical column marked 1 is also provided with the numerals 23-10, as an additional inch in the width of a package 1 wide and 2310 long does not interfere with the loading of same through the side door opening of a standard box car. When, however, the width and the height are both increased 1', the length of the packagerhas to be reduced 1, in order to permit it to be introduced through the side door opening of a standard box car, and therefore, the numerals 239 are arranged in the space formed by the intersection of the horizontal column and the vertical column marked 2". In view of the fact that the particular numerals or units of measurement which are arranged in the spaces formed by the intersections of the vertical and horizontal columns of the table are immaterial, so far as my broadidea is concerned, and on account of the limited area of the spaces in. Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have omitted from Fig l most of the numerals of the table that represent the length of packages. In Fig. 2 of the drawings, however, which is an enlarged View of the upper left hand portion of the table, I have shown all of the numerals representing the length of packages which appear in the spaces on this portion of the table, but I will not specifically mention all of said numerals, other than to state that each space formed by the intersection of a horizontal column and a vertical column is'provided with numerals which represent the length of a package whose other two dimensions are represented by the headings for the two intersecting columns that form said space.

While I prefer to construct the table so that the headings for the horizontal columns represent the height of packages, the headlugs for the vertical columns represent the width of packages and the numerals in the spaces formed by the intersections of said columns represent the length of packages, I do not wish it to be understood that'my invention is limited to a table constructed in this exact manner, for my broad idea consists in a table made up of intersecting columns provided with headings that represent two of the dimensions of packages of various sizes and means arranged in the spaces formed by the intersections of said columns that represent the third dimension of packages of various sizes.

A table of the construction above described enables a shipper or a railroad company to accurately classify shipments of package freight, for the person using the table can tell at a glance whether or not a particular package can be loaded in a standard box car. If, for example, the package to be shipped is 20 long, 1 wide {LDC 3 high, the user glances down the vertical column marked 1 to ascertain whether said column crosses the horizontal column marked 3' and notes the numerals in the space formed by the intersection of said columns which represent the length of the longest package 1 wide and 3' high that can be loaded in a standard box car. In the example given the user notes that the said space contains the numerals 22-3 and he thus knows that a package 20 long, 1 wide and 3 high is small enough to be loaded in a standard box car. If the package is 23 long, 1 wide and 3 high, the person using the table can tell instantly, by glancing at the space formed by the intersection of the vertical column marked 1 and the horizontal column marked 8, that a package of this size is too large to be introduced through the side door opening of a standard box car, because the table shows clearly that 223" is the maximum length of a package 1x3 that can be loaded in a standard box car.

A table of the construction above described is adapted for use by railroad companies and by shippers and makes it possible to classify package freight quickly and also accurately, thus resulting in a great saving, both to shippers and to railroad companies and eliminating many disputes in regard to freight charges. Furthermore, such a table enables a shipper to know whether his shipments of package freight will be charged for at the actual weight of the packages or at a minimum rate of four thousand pounds for each package, and such a table also tends to reduce the liability of a railroad company quoting a shipper a lower rate than the rate which the railroad company would be legally entitled to charge.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A table for classifying package freight,

composed of two groups of right-angnlarlydisposed columns provided with suitable headings that represent the two dimensions of packages of various sizes, and means arranged in the spaces formed by the intersections of said columns for representing the third dimension of packages of various sizes. 2. A table for classifying packages of various sizes, said table being made up of two sets of right-angularly-disposed columns and units of measurement combined in such a manner that the table shows the three dimensions of various sized packages which can be introduced into a container of the dimensions for which the table is designed.

3. A table for classifying difierent sized packages, consisting of a plurality of individual numbers or characters arranged in horizontal and vertical rows, which numbers represent in units of measurement one dimension of packages of various sizes, headings for the horizontal rows of numbers that represent a different dimension of packages of various sizes, and headings for the vertical rows of numbers that represent still another dimension of packages of various sizes.

4. A. table to be used for classifying packages into two different classes, said table consisting of a plurality of horizontal,

parallel columns and a plurality of parallel,

vertical columns that intersect said hori zontal columns, headings for said respective sections'of said columns for representing in units of measurement the third dimension of packages whose other two dimensions are represented by the headings of said horizontal and vertical columns.

5. A table for the purpose described consisting of a plurality of parallel, horizontal columns, a plurality of parallel, vertical columns that cross said horizontal columns, said horizontal columns being marked in units of measurement to represent the height of various sized packages and said vertical. columns being marked in units of measurement to represent the width of various sized packages, and numerals or characters arranged at the points where said columns intersect to representthe length of various sized packages.

6. A table for the purpose described consisting of a plurality of parallel, horizontal columns, a plurality of parallel, vertical columns that cross said horizontal columns,

said horizontal columns being marked in packages composed of a group of hori-' Zontally-disposed, parallel columns, a group of vertically-disposed, parallel columns that cross said horizontal columns, headings for said horizontal columns Which represent in units of measurement the height of packages of various sizes, headings for said vertical columns which represent in units of measurement the Width of packages of various sizes, and means arranged 1n each of the spaces formed by the lntersectlon of a horizontal and a vertical column for showing the 20 maximum length of a package Whose height and width is represented by the headings of the horizontal and vertical columns that cooperate With each other to form said space.

In testimony whereof I hereunto anix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses, this second day of February 1916.

HOWARD E. BURNS. Witnesses:

VVELLs L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner'of Patents Washington, D. C. 

